President Barack Obama plays basketball during a visit to the McIntosh family farm in Missouri Valley, Iowa, Aug. 13, 2012. The President toured a cornfield on the family farm to view the effect the drought is having on crops ( Photo by Pete Souza)

ThinkProgress: Dying Teen Is Being Denied A Heart Transplant Because He’s Had Trouble With The Law

Fifteen-year-old Anthony Stokes has less than six months to live unless he receives an emergency heart transplant. But his family has been told that Anthony doesn’t qualify for the transplant list because he has a “history of non-compliance” — partly due to his history of earning low grades and having some trouble with the law.

…. Regardless of Anthony’s specific past, his story fits into a larger pattern of racially-motivated skepticism about young black men. The routine criminalization of black youth — thanks in large part to the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline,” which funnels a disproportionate number of black teens into the justice system for minor infractions — ensures that teens like Anthony are often seen as threats. And once society labels those kids as criminal, suspect, or “non-compliant,” their lives are typically considered to have less value.

White House chef Sam Kass eyed the corn ripening in the garden tucked in a corner of the South Lawn but decided to pluck a cucumber off the vine instead. “We had corn two days ago,” he explained. Vegetables and fruits are on the menu for the first family and for kids across the country who are heading back to school, a cause for Michelle Obama and Kass, the Obamas’ family chef and executive director of the first lady’s Let’s Move! initiative. In an interview Friday with USA TODAY’s Capital Download, Kass discussed the impact the campaign against childhood obesity seems to be having.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made headlines last week with the release of a study that showed obesity rates among low-income preschoolers declining for the first time in decades — down in 17 states and up in only three. On the same day, Gallup reported that the percentage of Americans who went to fast-food restaurants at least once a week had dropped by 9 percentage points since 2006.

“I think we’re right at a tipping point,” Kass said, shedding his jacket as he sat at a picnic table in the sweltering August heat. The White House garden, the first big vegetable patch on the grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden during World War II, produces about a thousand pounds of produce a year. “Last year, fruit and vegetable consumption was up 6%, which came as a great surprise. We’re seeing much greater awareness across the board about what we’re eating and how much we’re eating and trying to make sure we’re getting balanced meals on our kids’ plates.” President Obama insisted last week on NBC’s Tonight Show that his favorite food was broccoli. Really? “Broccoli is a go-to staple here,” Kass confirmed. “He likes his greens. I mean, he’ll eat any kind of green vegetable. There’s nothing that’s not in play.” For Obama, he typically blanches the broccoli or sautés it with a little olive oil.

President Barack Obama talks with Senior Advisor David Axelrod on the Colonnade of the White House, Aug. 13, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas discuss the 2012 Summer Olympic Games during an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, Aug. 13, 2012 (Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

President Barack Obama greets Military Aide Lt. Col. Dave Kalinske and his family in the Oval Office, during Kalinske’s departure ceremony, Aug. 13, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

Chips, I missed you big day(:: shame on me. But Happy birthday to a truly dedicated and inspiring person. Your blog has been my lifeline for the past few years. In fact, I was thinking about you a lot yesterday, wondering when you started TOD, and what inspired you to. Is there a written record, or history. I would love to read it.

GM, Utal, and thanks for your part in all this. This has already been such a terrific day, in honour of CC! Have to go to grocery – nothing here i WANT to eat. 😀 Hope you all, including the Obama, continue to have much fun. BBL

Find a town hall meeting here: http://www.accountablecongress.com/ I’m reading that GOP reps don’t want to meet with their constituents this summer as often….even MORE of a joke. Call them up and request a meeting. THEY work for YOU. They should NEVER say they can’t do that….if they do, let the world know what they did. Liars and cowards.

They don’t want to meet because they’re too busy working with their Koch sponsors, planning racist stunts across the US made to look like spontaneous events, and pushing BS media narratives about PBO’s vacation and rehashing old narratives about First Dog Bo flying on private plane. That’s the “outreach” they are doing.

HELP! I know the President is planning a bus tour of Pa. and Central N.Y. August 22-23 and was going to deliver a speech while on this tour. This morning, GMA indicated those remarks will be delivered in Syracuse. Can anyone confirm? Please!!

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – President Obama will be making a stop in Syracuse as part of a bus tour next week, a source familiar with the plans tells NewsChannel 9.

While White House officials have confirmed the president will tour Upstate New York and Pennsylvania to talk about jobs and the economy, specific locations have not officially been announced.

The tour is scheduled for Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23.

Obama will also be in the Binghamton, Buffalo and Scranton, Pa. areas, the source told NewsChannel 9.

AND this:

The president’s tour will coincide with the start of the New York State Fair, which opens Aug. 22 and runs through Sept. 2. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will be in Syracuse for the opening day, traditionally known as Governor’s Day.

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-Syracuse, is among those who invited Obama to visit the region. Maffei sent the president a letter in April, asking him to tour the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, where the congressman and others are trying to establish a national historical park.

Maffei wants the president to support the proposed Harriet Tubman National Historical Parks Act, which would establish the first national park in honor of an African-American woman.

Need help, everyone. I am planning to attend President Obama’s speech on August 28. It is my understanding that Presidents Carter and Clinton are also speaking.

WHy is this not being advertised more? It’s not a sham, is it? I’ve reserved a room, so please help me to confirm that this is really happening. One would honk this event would be blasted on the airwaves.

At our march in Washington, we will be protesting against recent attempts at voter suppression and troubling ‘stand your ground’ laws. While we emphasize challenges that remain on the road to progress, we will praise all that we have achieved since the days when Dr. King delivered his impassioned ‘I Have a Dream Speech.’ It is our strong hope that we can add the elimination of ‘stop and frisk’ to that list. Now that a judge has validated the fact that the NYPD’s practice demonstrates a widespread disregard for the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, as well as violations with the 14th Amendment, we need leadership to accordingly.

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Interesting the comments on the page and twitter…re: Rev Al op-ed…..

there have virtrolic comments directed toward the NAACP..and Essence…and EBONY…etc..when blk folks fight back against racist actions perpetrated towards them…those same fols who are trying to impose that racist terror on us cry foul…because we as a people are just suppose to take it….and we always have to justify and explainnnnnnnnn why it is what it is…((deep breath))…i am ever grateful to the men and women in the blk community and indeed in all communities who continue to stuggle for Justice..Freedom…Equality…as James brown says…i would rather die on my feet…than to be living on my knees….

Forward>>>>>>

ps…i plan to be at the March on Washington..with my grandson…and i will March with my cane…..no matter how slowly.. i will March..

Happy Birthday Chipsticks and thanks for this great blog—my source of news. Today is primary day in NJ to pick the folks who will run for the late Sen. Lautenberg’s seat. Turnout is expected to be low.

amk, just taking this opportunity to express my condolences on the loss of your mother. She sounded like the most amazing, inspirational woman whose good deeds will benefit so many, for generations to come.

Her legacy lives through her son and grandchildren who are following in her footsteps, not only in career choice but through their principles and compassion. She must have been so proud of all of you.

They are just as detached from reality as the far-right – it’s amazing you can tell they come from the same families, same communities, and have internalized the same prejudices and hateful attributes. A few of them think they are superior simply because they believe in same-sex marriage and want to smoke weed freely.

they are sickening. Now that I think about it, I left there in 2009 and not 2010- either way not soon enough. As Chips said: a cesspit

Yep they definitely believe themselves to be superior to everyone, most especially President Obama. I used to laugh- thinking why would I believe anything any of them said- over President Obama?? I listen and watch him every day, I pay close attention to him, his administration and all their doings… yet commenters on dk truly do expect to be believed- with their annonimity in tact- over President Obama. They are the ‘monied’ klan, nothing else, imo.

I certainly agree there are a lot of left ideologues at that site. But there are also, I’m absolutely convinced of that, republican operatives who come and go, and have a tendency to be more active and nasty when President Obama is having some success, or when republicans are in trouble… Of course in election years we see even more of them…

I agree that GOP operatives flood the site at various times, but that is only possible because some of the so-called regulars at that site are in fact Republicans themselves hiding under the “progressive” label.

IAB! The car that got a new battery days ago won’t start again, which only means there is more to it than battery problems. Now I am awaiting the mechanic. Oh well, I didn’t really WANT to go shopping today. 😉

Yep! Except that I do like my current mechanic. What I don’t like are the $$$$ signs I’m seeing mentally since this is the third time in a week that she has refused to start in the morning. VC diagnosis = must be something going on under the covers that hasn’t been spotted yet. OTH, I didn’t have to go out at a time when I really didn’t want to and I have no reason to feel guilty that I’m being slothful. 😛

No, no, remember clouds and silver linings. Had it been working I would have been on the road even now doing grocery shopping, so I couldn’t be playing in the village. 😀 They haven’t even picked it up yet so I’m saving my frown for the moment I discover what repairs will cost. In the meantime I intend to enjoy my interactions here.

Good Morning my beautiful and brilliant Chips. (((((((((((((((((((((((( My Gift of Goodness)))))))))))))))))))))))))) Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, my beautiful one. I have to make sure that I leave messages everywhere to my beautiful angel . I just cannot take a chance on my memory.

My sweet and beautiful, brilliant, and caring angel, get ready for the all day and night party. I am going now to pick up my cake. Already have the wine, tea, and ale. Glasses looking lovely on the sideboard. Music is beautiful. Candles will be lit throughout the day. Oh, Chips you bring out the most beautiful part of all of our souls. Thanks for allowing all of us to share in your special day. I know your day will be one of joy, loveliness, and many blessings.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( I love you, my special angel of grace and beauty)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))HZ

Do you know who you share a BDay with?
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock

3 yr. old shoots dad in the butt during a target shooting outing. Maybe it would have been a wee bit smarter to take a 3 yr. old to the park instead—–or play catch in the back yard——something that didn’t involve a 3 yr. old access to a loaded gun. People are really dumb.

A Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital rocket carrying experiments developed by university students nationwide in the RockSat-X program was successfully launched at 6 a.m. EDT, August 13, from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The RockSat-X program is conducted with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. The goal of the program is to provide students a hands-on experience in developing experiments for space flight. This experience allows these students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a real world hands-on activity.
RockSat-X was lofted to an altitude of approximately 94 miles above the Atlantic Ocean before landing via parachute about 90 miles from the Wallops Flight Facility. Recovery of the payload is in progress.
The students in the program will receive their experiments later in the day to see how they performed and begin data analysis. Additionally, several experiments transmitted data during the flight down to Wallops via a telemetry system on board the rocket.
Image Credit: NASA/Chris Perry

Good morning TOD! Feeling like crud over the past couple of days but wanted to pop in to wish Chipsticks a wonderful day filled with all her favorite things! Happy Birthday, Chips and many thanks for providing this wonderful space. Hugs!

On this, the birthday of the great Ms. Chips, I once again pause and reflect on the fact that this blogsite (a refuge from the cesspool of hate) was created and is maintained as an act of total dedication and love.

I marvel at the fact that come hell or high-water, Ms Chips and the dedicated team of “Mini Blog Tyrants” remain focused with their Eyes on The Prize and that the people who comment here share the same mission & empathy.

Of course its very important to acknowledge that ALL the work that so many put in here is NOT for monetary gain.

I Salute You ALL!

A Very Happy Birthday 2 Chipsticks! Great thanks 4 @TheObamaDiary! Of course .@BarackObama was right: "1 Voice Can Change The World" – U do

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dear CHIPS….Love you, Love you Lots, for all you do to keep the world sane.
Thanks for all your hard work and even more important, your brilliant sense of HUMOR 🙂 🙂 You have me cracking up with laughter
more times than you will ever know. You are one fantastic unselfish 21 year old lady.

Bill Clinton sat at a position in history where he could have undone Reagan damage, but he had no problem with the damage Reagan had done. He could have reinstituted enforcement of anti-trust but instead codified into law the deregulation and consolidation of the media industry. So, from 1980 through 2008, anti-trust laws became a faint memory. Mergers went on steroids, the notion of a true fair market of competition became a pipe dream. I really thought the ship had sailed. If PBO had been given a decent Congress and McCain had not ushered in the tea party crazies by making it alright to have a dangerous, theocratic dingbat a heartbeat away from the Presidency, I think PBO and Holder could have prioritized rolling back some of these merger abuses. And even under perfect conditions, I would have held very little hope that they would have been successful.

And here we are – the Obama administration seeking to put the brakes on these abuses. A true, welcome breath of fresh air.

Here’s the cartoonist who drew the offensive “Dirty Dishes” cartoon about PBO that was posted on DKOS. No surprise, this cartoonist is a typical Emoprog, but don’t call him that!!! They can dish o(no pun intended) on others but they can’t accept anything remotely truthful about themselves.

@MattBors Hmm…haven't seen any comics from you about Glen Greenwald seeing just about every word he utters is a distortion or outright LIE

You may not find it offensive, but many people did, and the racial sub-context was not missed by most. There is a reason this cartoon was rec’d by some of the most virulent anti-Obama posters on Daily Kos. If this cartoon was neutral or complimentary towards PBO, it would not have been posted. It was meant to be insulting and degrading. Nothing funny or clever there.

I’m not blaming you at all DerBingle. You have a right to your opinions. I’m just saying that I (and others) thought the cartoon was offensive, and the most anti-Obama folks at Old Orange seem thrilled with it.